Search Engine Reputation Management
Everyone has heard the saying, 'You can't please all the people all the time'. No where is this more true than in business - sometimes you can't even please some people any of the time. Before the age of ecommerce, having dissatisfied customers, former employees, or competitors was a more localized problem. It was vital that businesses maintained their reputation in their community so they could keep valuable business. Today, the 'community' is a lot larger and can encompass a much wider area. Negative press about your business can spread faster and further than at any other time in history. Search engine reputation management is an increasingly important part of any company's online business presence.
Blogs, forums, message boards, and consumer and social networking sites give anyone with internet access a chance to voice their opinion with seeming impunity. Because you can be totally anonymous, people feel free to say anything. While a great boon to free speech, this can also be damaging to your company's name and reputation if disgruntled people post inaccurate, outdated, malicious, and false material about you online. Once it appears online, it is impossible to eradicate completely. What can you do to protect your business's reputation?
- Be proactive. Regularly monitor your online presence. Google your name and your businesses to see the results - your official website should occupy the top spots. You can also check with sites like Technorati to see what is being written about you in blogs. There are a lot of free monitoring services out there, so there is no excuse to be caught off guard by negative press.
- Write your own good content - this can be in the form of your official website as well as blogs, MySpace or FaceBook profiles, Wikipedia entries, and more. This proactive measure can help you attain the first several - and most important - search result spots.
- If you notice a problem, deal with it right away. Don't assume that it'll go away. Online information doesn't go away, it only spreads. SEO and content management techniques can help combat the problem.
Search engine reputation management is an ongoing process. Anticipating potential trouble spots and dealing with them head on can help mitigate any damage to your company. We can help you get your search engine reputation under control. Take a moment to contact us today.
